Page 125 - Guiding-at-risk-youth-through-learning-to-work-Lessons-from-across-Europe

Guiding at-risk youth through learning to work
Lessons from across Europe

as a way for young people to gain autonomy and flexibility, to start their own
career, and to apply innovative ways of thinking (ibid.).

Secondary school level entrepreneurship education programmes, Europe

Shadowing and training opportunities for young people (e.g. the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia Germany, Poland, Slovenia and the UK ). For example, the Students sitting in the
boss’s chair (Schüler im Chefsessel) project in Germany enables students and teachers in
selected regions of Germany to have the opportunity to spend one day with an entrepreneur and
to observe closely the typical everyday business and tasks of an entrepreneur. Subsequent to
this visit, students have to write an essay on their experience, which is assessed by an
independent regional jury. In the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, a number of VET
schools provide students with the opportunity to take part in work-based learning directly in
industry: this can include shadowing an employee to find out more about their job;

Visits from entrepreneurs (e.g. Belgium Flanders, Germany, Malta and the UK). In the UK,
Businessdynamics is a business education and enterprise charity that aims to bring business to
life for young people. Volunteers from companies introduce students, aged 14-19, to the
opportunities and challenges of the business world and to improve their key skills in preparation
for the world of work;

Setting up mini enterprises in schools (e.g. Austria, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
and Malta). The Co-ops in schools project (Scoops) in Malta tries to link school to work,
emphasising entrepreneurship and self-employment. It was launched in October 1995. It
provides students with an opportunity to organise themselves into cooperative units to run,
manage and market their own creative projects, and to create for themselves a viable self-
employment option. They are supported by a team of mentors, specially trained in setting up and
running cooperatives. In the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, a number of VET schools
have established a ‘real school company’ through a USAID grant-scheme for investment in basic
infrastructure and business planning. The ‘real company’ produces goods for the local market,
offering student work experience and skill development (albeit limited to a narrow field of tasks);

Entrepreneurship education in the school curricula (e.g. Greece, Hungary, Malta, Poland and
Slovakia). In Poland, an introduction to entrepreneurship is a compulsory at ISCED level 3 (two
teaching hours in a period of three years). In Malta, an entrepreneurship education pilot project
started in six primary schools in April 2007 and is already a part of the curriculum at secondary
level;

PR-campaigns, competitions and awards, media coverage, youth business events (e.g. the
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the UK). PR-campaigns, events and competitions
are another way of raising the profile of entrepreneurship for young people. Blue skies is an
interactive road show from the UK, which helps students understand how running their own
business can become a reality. It brings students face-to-face with successful young
entrepreneurs in a lively, fun environment.

Entrepreneurship education is seen to have an even greater role in today’s
society where young people can no longer expect to find traditional job-for-life
careers but different career pathways (e.g. contract employment, freelancing,
periods of self-employment, etc.) (Dearing, 1997). The findings of various studies
propose that entrepreneurship education has a positive impact on young people’s
self-assessment as well as on their general occupational aspirations and
achievement. Entrepreneurship education can help to equip young people to
develop the attitudes (e.g. more personal responsibility) and skills (e.g. flexibility

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